Archaeol North 1

The County Archaeologist reviews the Council's involvement in various conservation projects and the state of its SMR. AR

This small annular earthwork proved to have been a ritual focus within an already important archaeological landscape. Its three phases of construction began with two concentric post circles, followed by a ring-cairn built over the remains of the inner circle during the Early Bronze Age. A number of deposits of cremated bone, some isolated pot sherds and a small amount of uncremated human bone from this phase point to a fairly complex burial ritual. A poorly preserved central grave contained a crouched inhumation with a secondary cremation burial near the feet. The final phase is represented by the construction of two boulder platforms attached to the cairn, both associated with uncremated human bone, some of which was articulated, suggesting the platforms were used for the exposure of corpses. AR

Further work at this site revealed a series of ditches and gullies associated with a metalled road and several buildings across the land immediately north of Jarrow Hall, from which quantities of twelfth to fourteenth century pottery were recovered. This evidence must represent only a portion of a large village surrounding the monastery, which documentary sources suggest had a very large farm estate. Au(adp)

Pollen and other analyses on fishpond sediments revealed details of local vegetational history, but produced no evidence of cultivated plants or fishbones. AR

Presents a general history of salt-working in Cumbria which began in the 1120s, including a description of the production process, placing the virtually unique site of Crosscanonby within the development of the industry as a whole. Au(adp)

Brief description of this Grade II* listed structure which was part of a chain of Zeppelin listening posts during the First World War. Au(adp)